KADN-TV

KADN-TV

Lafayette, Louisiana United States
Channels	Digital: 16 (UHF) Virtual: 15
Branding	Fox 15; News 15
Programming
Affiliations	15.1: Fox 15.2: NBC 15.3: MyNetworkTV for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Allen Media Group (BCBL License Subsidiary, LLC)
Sister stations	KLAF-LD
History
First air date	March 1, 1980 (44 years ago) (1980-03-01)
Former call signs	KADN (1980−2009)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 15 (UHF, 1980–2009)
Former affiliations	Independent (1980–1986) CBS (secondary, 1980–2005)
Call sign meaning	"Acadian"
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	33261
ERP	800 kW
HAAT	359 m (1,178 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	30°21′43.5″N92°12′52.5″W / 30.362083°N 92.214583°W / 30.362083; -92.214583
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.kadn.com

KADN-TV (channel 15) is a television station licensed to Lafayette, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Allen Media Group alongside low-power NBC affiliate KLAF-LD (channel 14). The two stations share studios on Eraste Landry Road in Lafayette; KADN-TV's transmitter is located south of Church Point, in rural Acadia Parish.

History

Prior use of channel 15 in Lafayette

Main article: KLNI-TV

Channel 15 in Lafayette was originally home to KLNI-TV (licensed to Lafayette and New Iberia), which operated as an NBC affiliate beginning on September 16, 1968. It was owned by Southwestern Louisiana Communications, Inc., and it was the first TV station built in southwestern Louisiana to broadcast in full color. Like other NBC affiliates in the region, it temporarily brought PBS programming, specifically Sesame Street , to the Acadiana area from 1970 until 1972. However, Lafayette was just barely large enough at the time to support three full network affiliates. KLNI-TV, a UHF station, found it difficult to compete against longer-established KATC-TV (channel 3) and KLFY-TV (channel 10). It did not help matters that WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge and KPLC-TV in Lake Charles both provided strong grade B coverage to most of the market after relocating their transmission towers and increasing their respective heights. After suffering financial difficulties for most of its existence, KLNI discontinued operations on February 21, 1975. This left WBRZ (and later WRBT, now WVLA) and KPLC as the region's de facto NBC affiliates; the latter was carried by most cable providers in south-central Louisiana. The allocation for channel 15 in Lafayette as a commercial TV station remained after the demise of KLNI-TV, but the frequency stayed dark for the next five years.

Early years

KADN-TV, the current incarnation of channel 15, began broadcasting on March 1, 1980, as an independent station, offering mainly movies, old sitcoms, children's programming, and local sports. It was owned by Charles Chatelain and his company, Delta Media Corporation. The station used the on-air slogan "Acadiana's Alternative", and also called itself "The Movie Station".

Unusually for an independent station in what, then as now, was a fairly small market, KADN was innovative in creating its own original programming. It gained particular notice for its music programming. Shows such as The Larry Brasso Show (country music), Cypress with Warren Storm (swamp pop) and the long-running Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler (Cajun French music) were Saturday mainstays during the station's early years. The latter program also aired in reruns aired weekday mornings under the title Bon Temps Rouler Encore. A music video hour aired daily called Acadiana Music Box around the same time MTV was catching on.

Also in the early years, KADN had its own news department, first with five-minute newsbreaks and then its own 5 p.m. daily newscast called Acadiana in Review. After just a couple of years, station management realized that it was not financially feasible to compete with KLFY and KATC in news, so the news department was eliminated.

Shortly after KADN signed on the air, KLFY preempted an episode of the popular prime time drama series Dallas to run a Billy Graham televangelism special. Chatelain persuaded CBS to let KADN clear the episode. At that time, an arrangement was made for channel 15 to officially become a CBS secondary affiliate, picking up a microwave relay of WAFB in Baton Rouge for network programming. KADN then began airing any CBS programming that KLFY preempted for one reason or another, especially the morning daytime offerings from 9 to 10 a.m. (KADN would re-air those shows in the afternoon.) The arrangement lasted until 2005, with preempted CBS programming running in the later years on sister station KLAF-LP.

KADN-TV is a charter member of Fox, having joined the network upon its debut in October 1986.

From the late 1980s to 1997, KADN operated a low-powered semi-satellite in Alexandria, K47DW, to bring Fox programming to central Louisiana. It aired separate commercials for the Alexandria market, identifying as "Fox 47". In 1991, when Delta Media bought WNTZ in Natchez, the Fox affiliation moved to channel 48. The channel 47 translator then simulcast WNTZ to serve portions of Alexandria where channel 48's signal was weak.

ComCorp operating agreement

In 1997, Communications Corporation of America (ComCorp) began operating KADN in 1997 through a leased marketing agreement with original owner Charles Chatelain until purchasing the station outright in late 2004. After being located on cable channel 8 since sign-on, KADN moved to channel 6 on August 15, 2006, as part of a lineup restructuring of the Cox Communications Greater Lafayette system.

In June 2006, owner ComCorp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. ComCorp said in a press release viewers and staff would see no changes at the station. ComCorp emerged from bankruptcy in October 2007. ^[2]

The programming of sister station KLAF-LP was added to KADN-DT's signal on channel 15.2 in August 2007. This began a period of transition in which all four translators that made up KLAF were shut off.

In early 2008, KADN became the first station in the Lafayette market to air high-definition programming outside of network-provided offerings with syndicated reruns of Two and a Half Men airing in 720p HD. Further, on February 29, 2008, KADN began airing promotional materials throughout the day in 720p HD and identifying on the HD signal as "Fox 15 HD".

KADN-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 15, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 16, ^[3] using virtual channel 15.

Three sales in six years

On April 24, 2013, ComCorp announced the sale of its entire group (including flagship KADN and sister station KLAF-LD) to Nexstar Broadcasting Group. ^[4] The sale was completed on January 1, 2015. ^[5]

On May 7, 2015, Nexstar Broadcasting announced that KLAF-LD, which simulcasts on KADN-TV's DT2 channel, would be the new NBC affiliate for the Lafayette market effective July 1, 2015. They also announced that on that same date, KADN-TV would launch a third subchannel and move KLAF-LD's former MyNetworkTV affiliation there.

On January 27, 2016, Nexstar announced it would acquire Media General for $4.6 billion. Since Media General already owned CBS affiliate KLFY-TV, and since the Lafayette market is too small to allow duopolies in any case, in order to comply with FCC ownership rules as well as planned changes to rules regarding same-market television stations which would prohibit future joint sales agreements, the company was required to sell either KLFY or KADN to another company. KLAF-LD was the only station involved in the deal that could be legally acquired, since FCC rules allow for the common ownership of full-power and low-power stations in the same market, regardless of the number of stations in that market. ^{[6] [7]} On May 27, 2016, Nexstar announced that it would keep KLFY-TV and sell KADN-TV and KLAF-LD to Bayou City Broadcasting for $40 million. The sale was finalized January 17, 2017. ^[8] Upon completion of the sale, it reunited KADN and KLAF-LD with WEVV-TV in Evansville, Indiana, which Bayou City bought from Nexstar when it acquired ComCorp in January 2015.

On May 6, 2019, it was announced that Entertainment Studios through its Allen Media Broadcasting would purchase the Bayou City stations (including KADN-TV) for $165 million. ^[9] The sale was completed on July 31, 2019. ^[10]

On January 11, 2024, KADN-TV reached an agreement with New Orleans Pelicans over-the-air rightsholder Gray Television to air 10 games on the station during the 2023–24 NBA season. ^[11]

On September 17, 2024, Gray and the Pelicans announced a broader deal to form the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network, which will broadcast nearly all 2024–25 Pelicans games on Gray's stations in the Gulf South, as well as KADN-TV. ^[12]

Newscasts

Fox News Louisiana

On March 26, 2007, KADN began running on-air promos teasing a 9 p.m. newscast with the tagline "At 9 it's news, by 10 it's history."

Fox News Louisiana was produced by Baton Rouge Fox affiliate WGMB. Originally, the first 20 minutes of the program were taped earlier and geared specifically towards the Acadiana audience, with stories by Lafayette-based reporters, plus a local forecast. KADN then joined WGMB's live broadcast for the final two segments, which included generic national and world news, plus a statewide sportscast. In 2008, the newscast was retitled Fox News Lafayette, although the former branding (Fox News Louisiana) was not removed from the set.

On August 20, 2007, KADN debuted Fox News Louisiana AM, a 7 to 9 a.m. newscast. Like the evening news, certain segments were taped and included stories by the Lafayette-based reporting staff, while other segments were aired live. In December 2008, Fox News Louisiana AM was canceled.

In April 2009, KADN canceled its 30-minute evening newscast and let go of its local news staff. ^[13] KADN then aired Fox News Now at 9 p.m., a five-minute newscast featuring local headlines and a weather forecast. This was expanded to a full half-hour and renamed Fox15 News Lafayette when KADN's DT2 signal, simulcasting KLAF-LD, launched its news department on April 1, 2016. ^{[14] [15]} Until that time, KLAF-LD simulcast newscasts from Baton Rouge-based NBC affiliate WVLA-TV, which Nexstar operates under a shared services agreement (SSA) with White Knight Broadcasting.

On April 3, 2017, KADN/KLAF unveiled a refurbished news set, adopted the current News 15 branding, and dropped the "Acadiana's KLAF" branding for KLAF and KADN 15.2. KADN 15.1 airs newscasts from 5 to 9 a.m. daily (except on weekends) and 9 p.m. nightly seven days a week. NBC 15.2 airs newscasts at noon, 5, 6, and 10 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 p.m. only on weekends. KADN 15.2 continues to be a simulcast of KLAF 14.1. ^[16]

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KADN-TV ^[17]

Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
15.1	720p	16:9	KADNTV1	Fox
15.2	1080i		KLAFTV2	NBC (KLAF-LD)
15.3	480i	4:3	MyTV3	MyNetworkTV
15.4		16:9	MeTVToo	MeTV Toons
15.5			DABL	Dabl

  Simulcast of subchannels of another station

On July 1, 2015, then owner Nexstar Media Group launched Lafayette's first NBC station since 1975 on KADN-TV 15.2 and Sister station KLAF-LD branding the new station "Acadiana's KLAF/NBC". On September 1, 2024 MeTV Toons launched on KADN-TV 15.4

References

1. "Facility Technical Data for KADN-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. 2theadvocate.com | Business | Stations’ owners OK plan to exit bankruptcy — Baton Rouge, LA
3. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
4. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101552312&qnum=5040&copynum=1&exhcnum=1 ^{[ bare URL ]}
5. Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved January 6, 2015.
6. "Nexstar-Media General: It's A Done Deal". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
7. Picker, Leslie (January 27, 2016). "Nexstar Clinches Deal to Acquire Media General". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 27, 2016.
8. Miller, Mark K. (May 27, 2016). "Nexstar Selling Five Stations in Four Markets". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
9. Miller, Mark K. (May 6, 2019). "Byron Allen Buying Bayou City TVs for $165M". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
10. Mills, Wes (July 31, 2019). "FCC Approves Evansville TV Station Sale". Inside Indiana Business. Grow INdiana Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
11. "WVUE, New Orleans Pelicans will also broadcast 10 games in Lafayette, bringing games to all Louisiana markets". WVUE. January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
12. Clark, Christian (September 17, 2024). "The Pelicans officially have a new TV broadcast home. Here's how you can watch it". NOLA.com. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
13. "KADN Cuts Local News - The Independent (04/30/09)".
14. "KLAF-KADN Set To Intro Local Newscasts".
15. "KLFY.com". KLFY.com. October 24, 2023.
16. Hill, Michael P. (April 6, 2017). "Lafayette stations get new set, name". NewscastStudio. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
17. "Digital TV Market Listing for KADN". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved August 8, 2019.

External links

• Official website